I’m admittedly a no0b to the training landscape but from what I’ve seen most training courses I hear about seem to be geared towards more military/police. I’m looking for something more practical & geared towards the civilian concealed carrier but haven’t seen much in that direction. I’m not a new shooter but I’m not trained to effectively employ my CCW either. I’ve been going to “beginner’s tactical” night at my local range and have scheduled a private lesson for later this week to diagnose my shooting but I obviously need more instruction. Suggestions/advice please?
I don’t follow…
Sound gun fighting skills are the same if you’re a cop or not. 
+1
Find a reputable training school in your area and take their entry level handgun course. The shooting of bulls-eyes that you’ve been doing your whole life has nothing at all to do with gunfighting. And gaining a CCW/CPL license doesn’t prepare you for it either.
I understand what you are talking about. There are not many courses and instructors that provide training in a general skillset for average citizens. Unfortunately, some of the ones who do are so old-fashioned and dogmatic that it feels like you are doing the time warp again.
One instructor that I would highly recommend for this is David Pennington - check our training section for his class announcement.
There is a difference, but IMO it doesn’t lie in the actual skills employed in the midst of shooting.
Gunfighters are trained and paid to “run to the sound of gunfire”. They tend to have long guns, and armor, and radios - and buddies who are similarly equipped.
Average citizens are lone operators whose primary goal should be staying out of trouble, and/or being a good witness.
There aren’t too many options that cover the particular mindset that does along with being a citizen out in the world. Most shooting schools are about marksmanship and manipulations. These skills are vital, but there are additional considerations.
I know some guys with hundreds of hours of carbine and tactical pistol training who’ve never done a class from concealment.
+1 on David Pennington. Although several around here would disagree, I highly recommend suarez international. Also… if you’re from Ohio, check out tdi.
I would also highly recommend Tom Givens and Rangemaster with their Dynamic Marksmanship Course for the training most needed by the average citizen. Since there are other facets to drawing a gun and being the fastest shot in a lethal force situation.
Well you left everyone to speculate without knowing which part of the country you are seeking training and how far of a radius that you would be willing to travel to find you the training you are asking about.
That said, there are several credible instructors around. If you narrow it down, you may get a better answer to your question.
Don’t know where you are but Rob Pincus of I.C.E. Training or as someone else mentioned TDI is another excellent option if your near Ohio
Sorry, I thought my location was filled in. I’m in Houston, Texas.
I think you’re on point with what I was trying to get at. Thanks and apologies for not being as clear.
Paul Howe www.combatshootingandtactics.com is not far from you in Nacogdoches. His 2 day Tactical Pistol course is great. You can shoot the course with your carry rig. Very good instruction, you’ll leave a better shooter and with an outline for how to continue to improve/maintain your skills. Stay at the bunkhouse while you attend, you’ll pick up some good stuff in the after hours also. Paul and Eric are both outstanding individuals.
Whichever course you end up taking, talk to the instructor and explain that you want to shoot like you carry. I can’t imagine any of the instructors I know telling you that you couldn’t, unless there was a safety concern with the student.
ETA Just in case you’re getting a little overwhelmed, I thought I’d give you a little more info on Paul’s course to help fully overwhelm you :D. You will get a thorough drumming in of the basics, over & over. You’ll be videotaped and the video will be reviewed with you to diagnose problem areas. Every part of the course dovetails into the next step quite well I think. The facility is top notch. I believe Paul can be conned into offering personal instruction outside of the course schedule. The other recommendations you are getting are spot on also. Thats the good thing about this site, first person recommendations from some solid shooters. You just happen to live within a close drive to one of the best guys in the industry.
It all starts with the fundamentals. I believe it was Brian Searcy of Tigerswan that was quoted in SWAT several months ago as basically saying it all starts with the ability to put one round on a single target. I have expanded this to “it all begins with the ability to put a single round on a single stationary target while standing still”. Many, MANY classes go (literally) from walk to run before lunch on TD1. Depending on the makeup of the student body this may or may not be a good thing. IMHO in a beginner class this is absolutely a bad thing. There is no point in flinging yourself into a mud-filled ditch with an AK, blasting away at multiple moving targets with your buddies, if you can’t hit what you’re aiming at with your carry pistol at 7 yards.
What you want as a first class IMHO is a marksmanship class with an eye on defensive use of the firearm. I also think that you should start with, and master, the handgun before you move on to the carbine, or at least run concurrently with a strong focus on handgun.
Randy Cain is the best instructor of fundamentals that I have ever seen. He also happens to be the best TEACHER I have ever had (including k-12, undergrad, grad, and a lifetime and career of professional and private instruction in various fields). I HIGHLY recommend Randy as a starting point anytime anyone asks. Some may see his Gunsite background as being antiquated in the modern market, but the fundamentals don’t change just because you go from modified Weaver to modern Iso and Randy has a unique ability and depth of knowledge that enable him to truly diagnose marksmanship issues. Randy’s Tactical Handgun 101 is where I think you should begin.
I have trained with Randy, Bill Jeans, Louis Awerbuck, Pat Rogers, Travis Haley, Chris Costa, and Frank Garcia. I learned something from all of them (some more than others) but I think Randy is the best place to start.
In the Houston area. you might want to look at MastSolutions.
http://www.mastsolutions.com.
You might want to call them up since their highly technical and annoying web site doesn’t give a schedule.
In the Central Texas area (Giddings), I can recommend KRTraining.
http://www.krtraining.com
I have been taking classes from Karl for many years and he and the instructors he brings in are top notch.
CSAT is another school I have experience with and is highly recommended.
http://www.combatshootingandtactics.com/
Gringop
I will second Randy Cain.
http://www.cumberlandtactics.com/
beyond that, and maybe just a smidge off topic, I like the old dogmatic guys 
Doesnt mean I have to be old, dogmatic, or buy it all 100%. But they have a solid skill set built on strong fundamentals that they belive in deeply. I respect that and will try to sap all the information and experiance I can from them. I have no prob taking classes from other styles and seeing what they have to offer, and then finding what works best FOR ME in MY LIFE from all available sources.
First things first. You need the fundamentals. Advanced shooting is nothing more than doing the basics extremely well.
So with that said, look for an instructor that teaches the fundamentals and ignores all the “commando BS.” My two favs for this type of instruction is Vickers and Hackathorn. They start from the ground up working on trigger manipulation/control. THIS IS the MOST important part of learning how to shoot a pistol well.
After you can perform the fundamentals well, THEN look for a class that specialized in CCW training.
David P. would be a good choice (as others have stated).
C4
I’ll second the recommendation for Paul Howe, even if he wasn’t within easy driving distance it’d be worth making the effort to train with him.
Another positive is that CSAT offers a Home Defense Course which is probably more in line with what your looking for in being able to apply those “fundamentals” outside the square range.
Since you’re in Houston, check out John and Vicki Farnam of DTI. They have a class in Victoria during October, and they focus on civilian concealed carry.
http://www.defense-training.com/sched/schedform.html
The intro class is taught by Vicki, who IMHO is the better teacher of the pair. This was the first class I ever took, and it set the foundation very well. I still recommend them after taking quite a few classes from tier 1 instructors with a more mil/LE biased curriculum. John’s lecture on legal ramifications is worth the price of admission. That said, skills are just skills.
Agree.
John’s lecture portion is worth the price of admission. I am the first to admit that I don’t agree with his LCD approach or his marksmanship and targeting theories, but he can at least back up why he does things with an explanation.
I don’t shoot how Farnam taught me, but I do apply his mindset lessons daily.
The “tape loops” and how to behave/present yourself to LEO are priceless should you ever find yourself on the winning end of a fight. His mindset on deselection and escalation are always in the back of my head. I suppose it’s the old Marine in him saying “be polite, but…”
I too have adopted different techniques and mechanics, but DTI established the groundwork for safety and professionalism. They taught me HOW to learn and WHY to learn. I’ve seen first-timers in a lot of other classes, and rarely have I seen any of them leave with the same level of conviction and dedication to the craft.
As for the LCD approach, I recently took another class with John, and he openly told me, “if you have something that works better for you, USE IT.” Anyone that can admit that his way is not THE way has the big picture figured out.